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Lake Turkana

From Wikipedia
Lake Turkana
salt lake, endorheic lake
Part ofLake Turkana National Parks, African Great Lakes Edit
InflowsOmo River, Turkwel River, Kibish River, Kerio River Edit
Outflowsevaporation Edit
IUCN protected areas categoryIUCN category II: National Park Edit
CountryKenya, Ethiopia Edit
Coordinate location4°3′0″N 36°1′0″E Edit
Category for maps or plansCategory:Maps of Lake Turkana Edit
Map

Lake Turkana (/tɜːrˈkɑːnə, -ˈkæn-/) be a saline lake insyd de Kenyan Rift Valley, predominantly insyd northern Kenya; de far northern end dey cross into Ethiopia.[1] E be de world ein largest permanent desert lake den de world ein largest alkaline lake. By volume e be de world ein fourth-largest salt lake[2] after de Caspian Sea, Issyk-Kul, den Lake Van (wey dey pass de shrinking South Aral Sea), den among all lakes e dey rank 22nd.

Lake Turkana now be threatened by de construction of de Gilgel Gibe III Dam insyd Ethiopia secof de damming of de Omo River wich dey supply chaw of de lake ein water.[3]

Although de lake commonly be—den to sam degree still be—dem use for drinking water, ein salinity (slightly brackish) den very high levels of fluoride (much higher dan insyd fluoridated water) generally make am unsuitable give drinking; e sanso be a source of diseases wey contaminated water spread. Increasingly, communities around de lake dey rely on underground springs for drinking water.[4] De same characteristics wey dey make am unsuitable for drinking limit ein use for irrigation.[5] De climate be hot den very dry.

De rocks of de surrounding area predominantly be volcanic. Central Island be an active volcano, wey dey emit vapour. Outcrops den rocky shores be found on de east den southern shores of de lake, while dunes, spits den flats be on de west den north, at a lower elevation.

On-shore den off-shore winds fi be extremely strong, as de lake warms den cools more slowly dan de land. Sudden, violent storms be frequent. Three rivers (de Omo, Turkwel den Kerio) flow into de lake, buh lacking outflow, ein only water loss be by evaporation. Lake volume den dimensions vary. For example, de level fell by 10 metres (33 ft) between 1975 den 1993.[6] Despite de lack of outflow, insyd ecology e be often regarded as a part of — anaa at least associated plus — de Nile basin secof ein prehistoric connection to dis system den de similarities insyd dema aquatic faunas.[5]

Secof local temperatures — de lake water be 27–31 °C [81–88 °F], den de mean air temperature of de region be similar anaa slightly higher — aridity den geographic inaccessibility, de lake dey retain ein wild character.[5] Nile crocodiles be found insyd great abundance on de shore flats. De rocky shores be home to scorpions den carpet vipers. De lake be rich insyd fish den fishing be very important to de local economy, buh e be threatened by falling water levels den overfishing.[7]

Lake Turkana National Parks now be listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Sibiloi National Park dey lie on de lake ein eastern shore, while Central Island National Park den South Island National Park dey lie insyd de lake. Both be known for dema Nile crocodiles.

An abundance of hominid fossils be discovered insyd de area wey dey surround Lake Turkana.[7]

De area dey see few visitors, be a two day drive from Nairobi. De lake sanso be an imaginary boundary of de Rendille den Borana den Oromo to de Turkana land. De area be primarily clay-based wey e be more alkaline dan seawater.

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  • Lake Turkana be featured insyd de 2002 video game Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht. Insyd de game ein prologue, set insyd 20XX AD, an archaeological expedition at Lake Turkana dey uncover de Zohar, a mysterious monolith wey dey serve as a central element insyd de game ein story.[8]
  • De lake ein eastern shore (insyd Loiyangalani) be de setting for John le Carré ein novel The Constant Gardener, wey na e sanso be a location for de film of de same title.
  • Part of de events insyd de novel “Невозвращенец” (“The Non-Returnee”) by Andrei Gusev dey take place on de shores of Lake Turkana insyd Loiyangalani (insyd de second part of dis novel).[9][10]

References

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  1. ↑ The boundary between Ethiopia and Kenya has been a contentious matter. A brief consideration of the topic can be found in the State Department document, Ethiopia – Kenya Boundary Archived 18 March 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ↑ "Lake Turkana in Kenya - The Jade Sea". www.kenyasafari.com. Retrieved 2020-05-25.
  3. ↑ Moran, B. (23 May 2017). "A way of life under threat in Kenya as Lake Turkana shrinks". The New Humanitarian. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  4. ↑ Serem, B. (29 November 2012). "For villages in Turkana, Kenya, a new initiative that brings clean water to the community is life-changing". UNICEF. Archived from the original on 8 November 2019. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  5. 1 2 3 Johnson, T.C.; J.O. Malala (2009). "Lake Turkana and its connection to the Nile". In H.J. Dumont (ed.). The Nile. Monographiae Biologicae. Vol. 89. Springer Science + Business Media B.V. pp. 287–306. ISBN 978-1-4020-9725-6.
  6. ↑ Historic lake levels are graphed in the World Lakes Database Archived 18 January 2006 at the Wayback Machine.
  7. 1 2 "A way of life under threat in Kenya as Lake Turkana shrinks". www.thenewhumanitarian.org (in English). 2017-05-23. Retrieved 2026-06-10.
  8. ↑ "Script of Xenosaga Episode I – Prologue". Xeno Series Wiki. Retrieved 2025-10-12.
  9. ↑ Review of “Невозвращенец” (“The Non-Returnee”) on de site of public fund "Union of writers of Moscow", 2023
  10. ↑ “Невозвращенец” (“The Non-Returnee”) by Andrei Gusev, 2022
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